Need advice: PM with mixed company sizes hitting final round walls

Question

8 YOE as a PM, consistently delivered revenue impact ($130M+ through API products, 85% user growth, etc.) but struggling with the current market. My background spans B2B SaaS and B2C across different company sizes (startups to larger enterprises).

Key challenges:

- Recently affected by enterprise tech layoffs

- Prior roles at startups (some no longer operating)

- Getting through recruiter screens easily but consistently getting blocked at final rounds

- Have recent AI certs and strong technical background with APIs/integrations

Most of my final rounds have been for roles that align well with my experience (API products, marketplace, B2B SaaS). I prepare extensively, share concrete metrics, and try to demonstrate strategic thinking, but something isn't clicking.

Questions:

1. How are other PMs navigating the current market with a mixed-size company background?

2. What's working in final round interviews, especially for those who've successfully moved from non-FAANG to big tech?

3. Should I be positioning my startup experience differently?

Looking for honest feedback on potential blind spots in my approach.

boulderingnerd · Accepted Answer

What do your final round interviews normally look like and how many have you had already? From what I'm hearing, it sounds like you're doing all the right things and perhaps there are just more qualified candidates (more YOE, better past-experience fit) that interview too in which case there isn't anything you could do?

Then again, that's not actionable feedback. I think some additional insight into what your final round interviews look like might be helpful to give some better-tailored suggestions.

ccrns · Answer

I have similar YoE in technical product management but not a mixed company background and I too am hitting a final round wall. In fact, in my experience, there is a very high chance that I’ll make it to the final round if I get an initial call with the recruiter. But so far I’ve only received a single offer the last year I’ve been interviewing and that was the beginning of the year. Since then, I’ve made it to the final round with myself and 1 other candidate numerous times and have been rejected every time, even once being a direct competitor of my current company and me being the absolute best fit for a niche role.I’ve struggled with thinking there’s something I can be doing differently and while I can pinpoint a handful of times where MAYBE what I said during the last round affected the outcome, I’ve come to the conclusion that at that point it’s just luck. Maybe the other candidate said a single impressive thing that resonated really, really well with the interviewer or maybe their salary requirements were a bit lower. Either way, at some point we will be chosen and the other candidate will get the rejection email.

goonhardt · Answer

You guys are getting interview calls ?

Antiviral · Answer

why don't you start plan to build startups and become founder

it's quite evident, you guys know how to run business
delivered revenue impact ($130M+ through API products, 85% user growth, etc.)

someone at somepoint need to move employee to manager at somepoint of time, when balance is broken.

I am similar year expereinced professional not from PM but from tech/Engineer background.

Need advice: PM with mixed company sizes hitting final round walls

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